Mobile Apps & Business: Customer Service Is #1 Priority

Businesses Say Customer Service is the #1 Priority for Mobile Apps

A new survey by FollowAnalytics of mid-size and large companies reports that for businesses building mobile apps, their #1 priority for doing so was to improve Customer Service. This might be a surprise to those who assume that a business would mainly get a mobile app just because it’s the “cool” thing to do these days…

38 percent of the survey’s 451 respondents said their primarily purpose in creating an app was improving customer service. Another 12 percent said it was to foster customer loyalty, and slightly more than a quarter wanted to extend their customer experiences beyond the Web.

Businesses who utilize their apps to enhance their customer service are making a smart move. They realize that they are now only a tap or two away from their customers at any given time. That immediacy and efficiency is great – compared to the customer posting a negative review or comment on Twitter or Facebook – and it possibly going viral.

Many businesses go a step further and use their apps to collect data and communicate on a detailed level with their customers. For example, users of an Insurance app can report incidents, submit photos, and follow the progress of a claim. Or users of a Restaurant app can send a voice message to the Chef; or even a video testimonial if their service or meal was excellent.

Others are incorporating their mobile app data with their CRM’s to help ensure their customer records are as complete and accurate as possible. They can then utilize that for cross-sell and up-sell opportunities and for customer loyalty programs as well.

For those businesses on the sidelines regarding a mobile app, all objective measures indicate that now may be an excellent time to get in. Whether you goal is to improve customer service, extend the experience from your website, build customer loyalty – it’s absolutely critical that you get a mobile app developer that understands your specific business needs and can effectively promote your app to your customers and your prospects.